Cider-press.



No. 761,930. PATENTED JUNE 7, 1904.

W. H. WENK, JR. 1

CIDER PRESS.

APPLICATION TILED JULY 11, 1903. N0 MODEL.

No. 761,930. PATBNTED JUNBV, 1904 w. H. WENK, JR.

- CIDER PRESS.

APPLICATION mum JULY 11, 1903.

no uon1.L. I 2 sums-sum z.' I

I I 'J-ln 4 UNITED STATES if Patented June *7, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

. CIDER-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,930, dated June 7,

ApplicationfileiilIuly 11,1903. SerialNo. 165.171. (Nomcdeh) To all whom, it puny concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. VVENK, J r. a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakgrove, in the county of Livingston and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Cider-Press, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cider-presses; and it consists in certain improvements upon the cider-press described in my prior patent, No. 598,456, granted February 1, 1898.

The object of the invention is to provid a cider-press operating upon the same general principle as that already patented by me under the date above mentioned and adapted to effect a more complete and satisfactory expres sion of the juice of the fruit or vegetables passed through the press.

The object above stated is obtained by means of the cider-press hereinafter fully described and claimed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

in which corresponding parts are designated -by the same characters of reference throughout the several views, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, and exact manner of assemblage of the elements exhibited may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacriicing any of its advantages.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the machine from the side with the housing removed and' with a feed-hopper shown in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation looking from the right side of Fig. 1, the interior structure of the machine beingomitted for the sake of clearnes's. Fig. 3 is a detail View in plan of the roll for varying the tension on the driving-rope,showi.n g the means for ad usting the'position of the roll. Fig.

1 is a detail view, in vertical section, on the line 1 1 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail view, in horizontal section,- on the line 5 5 in-Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing theconstruction of the press-roll.

In cider-presses of the type to which this invention relates it is difficult to express completely from the pulp of fruit or vegetables upon which the press operates all the juice therein conta ned by meansof a single operthe press.

ation of the press thereon. Consequently in presses of this type, in which the pulp passes only once through the press, a considerable quantity of juice is lost, and it isa desideratum of prime importance to effect a saving of the juice thus lost without materially increasing the time required for the expression of the juice or the cost of operation of the process.

The press hereinafter described is designed. to obviate the defect mentioned in the preceding paragraph by automatically shifting the pulp after one passage through the press, regrinding it, and returning it to the press for heavier pressure priorto its discharge from Referring to the drawings, F designates generally a-frarne in which are supported the movable members of the press and on which is also secured a suitable housing. (Not shown.) The frame F comprises a base 1, vertical members 2 at the corners, upper transverse members 3, lower transverse members 4, and certain minor members which will hereinafter be specified as occasion to do so arises.

In the upper portion of the frame and on upper transverse member 3 is supported in suitable bearing-blocks a shaft 5, upon which is rigidly mounted a driving-roll 6. Upon lower transverse member 1, journaled in similar bearing-blocks, is a shaft 7, carrying a solid press-roll 8, the periphery of which is formed preferably out of obliquely-disposed slats 9, which are spaced apart uniformly to provide channels for the passage of the juiceexpressed by the action of the press, as will hereinafter be more fully explained.

Between the driving-roll 6 and the press roll 8 there is supported upon horizontal members 10 of the frame a small roll 11, over which passes a belt 12, which also travels around the press-roll 8. The belt 12 is kept taut by means of a tightening-roll 13, which is supported by arms 14, hinged to vertical frame members 15,-and is drawn against the belt 12 by means" openings in the brackets on the arms 14:, in

' which the tighte1 1 ingroll 13 is journaled, and

by turning the thumb-nuts 18 upon the screwed to produce any desired degree of tension upon the belt 12. Another belt 19 also passes over press-roll 18 and the roll 11 and lies external to the belt 12, already described. The belt 19, which for convenience will be termed the pressure-belt in contradistinction to the belt 12, which will be known as the pulpbelt, lies in contact with the belt 12 throughout the greater portion of its length, as is best seen in Fig. 1, but is separated from the belt 12 above the press-roll 8 by passing over a roll 20, adj ustably supported in slotted brackets 21, which are mounted upon the vertical frame members 17. From the roll the belt 19 passes directly to the roll 11; but instead of then passing down with the belt 12 to the tightening-roll 13 the belt 19 passes over the top of the feed-box 22 and then passes downward to contact with the belt 12 on the surface of the press-roll 8.

The tension of the pressure-belt 19 is adjusted by means of the roll 20, which is provided with suitable adjusting-screws for shifting it back and forth in the slotted brackets 21.

In order to maintain sufficient pressure upon the belt 19 and make it effective in extracting juice from fruit or vegetable pulp,-an endless rope 23 is Wound over the driving-roll 6 and pressure-roll 8 and passes also over pulleys 24 and 25, supported near the top of vertical frame members 2, over pulley 26, supported on top of the frame F, and under pulleys 27 and 28, which are mounted in frames 29 and 30, respectively. The frames 29 and 30 are disposed between vertical guide-rods 31,\vhich form two tracks, within which said frames are adapted to slide up and down. The frame 29 is provided at the bottom with an eye, to which is attached a cord 32, leading toa suitable windlass or reel 33 at the bottom of the frame F, and the frame 30 has attached to the lower end thereof a weight 34 of magnitude sufficient to place the endless rope 23 under the requisite tension. The Windlass 33, which may be of any ordinary or preferred construction, forms means whereby the height of the frame 29, with its pulley 27, may be adjusted to correspond to the height of the weight-carrying frame 30 with its pulley 28.

The weight 34, suspended from the pulleyframe 30, is preferably formed in sections, as shown in Fig. 1, and may be decreased or increased, as may be desired, to vary the tension of the endless rope 23.

In order to keep the rope 23 in proper contact with the pressure-belt 19, there is provided a sliding frame 35, which is supported in the mainframe F, as shown, and which has journaled therein, near the inner end, a shaft 36, carrying a grooved roll 37, in the grooves of which the endless rope 23 runs, as best seen in Fig. 1. The shaft 36, upon which the roll 87 is mounted, is disposed in a slightlyoblique position across the frame 35 in order il l r l rods the position of the roll 13 may be adjustthat the portions of rope engaging the grooves near one end of the roll 37 may be kept under greater tension than those engaging the grooves near the other end. The rope is of course wound upon the'rolls 6 and 8 before the grooved roll 37 is brought into engagement therewith, and when the roll 37' is pressed against the rope the portions near one end of the roll 37 will be placed under greater tension than those near the other. This dill'erence in tension will be maintained by the inclined roll 37, because the several portions of the rope are all wound upon the same rolls, and slipping of therope thereon is practically impossible. The rope intermediate of the two rolls upon which the weight 31- is supported to maintain the tension will be kept at the tension of the portion of the rope passing under the end of the roll 37, which is at least tension; but as the rope travels toward the other end of the roll 37 its tension will gradually increase to a maximum.

The frame 35 is moved to and fro in the frame F by means of an adjusting-screw 33, which is supported in a threaded opening in one of the transverse members of the frame F and has the head thereof in contact with the outer member of the frame 35. The inner member of the frame 35 contacts with the pressure-belt 19 and forms a guide which serves to keep the belt 19 approximately in contact with the belt 12 until after the belt 12 has passed out of contact with the pressroll 8. 7

Fruit or vegetables are fed through the press and discharged therefron'i by means of a pluralityof chutes provided i1 1 the feed-box 22. The chute through which the fruit and vegetables are fed to the press is designated 39 and projects forward from the feed-box 22, as best seen in Fig. 1. The chute 39 extends inward and obliquely downward to a point slightly above a grater or grinder, which consists, essentially, of a cylinder -10, provided with a plurality of longitudinally-disposed radial knives tl, which are spaced equidistant around the entire circumference of the cylinder 40. The chute 39 is of such width that the delivery end thereof covers about one-half of the upper surface of the cylinder in, and the fruit or vegetables discharged upon the cylinder are carried down between the cylinder and a concave plate or casting 12, which is pivotally mounted adjacent to the cylinder at one side thereof and which may be adjusted in position by means of devices presently to be described. As the fruit or vegetables are forced down between the cylinder 40 and the concave plate or casting 42 the knives 11 reduce the fruit or vegetables to a coarse pulp, which passes down through a chute -13, to be discharged upon thepulp-belt 12, which passes beneath the lower end of said chute. The direction of movement of the pulp-belt 12 is such that the pulp is carried downward therewith in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 and is shortly afterward subjected to pressure from the belt 19, which comes into contact with the'belt 12 a short distance below the chute 43 and whose action is immediately supplemented by the pressure of the endless rope 23, the turns of which are brought into contact with the belt 19 by a grooved guide-roller 44, supported on horizontal frame members just above the lower margin of the chute 43.

The pivoted plate or casting 42 is shifted in position toward or away from the cylinder 40 by means of a bar 46, which is slidably mounted behind the plate 42 and has on one side thereof cams 47, which engage with cams 48, pro vided on the back of the plate 42. The bar 46 is shifted longitudinally by means of a nut 49, having a hand-lever and mounted on a threaded terminal portion of the bar 46.

The pulp discharged from the chute 43 upon the pulp-belt 12 is carried around the pressroll 8, and in making the circuit of the roll a considerable portion of the juice contained in the pulp is extracted by the pressure of the belt 19 and escapes between the turns of the rope 23 and between the slats 9, which form the periphery of the pressure-roll 8. As the pulp nears the top of the press-roll 8 the belt 19 passes out of contact with the pulp-belt 12,

asexplained in a preceding paragraph, and" the pulp is carried by the belt 12 to the top of the feed-box 22, where it'is discharged from the belt and passesdownward to fall into a chute 50, the upper end of which is disposed immediately above the upper end of the chute 43 and which extends obliquely downward to that portion of the cylinder 40 not covered by the chute 39. The pulp passes down through the chute to the cylinder 40 and is-againcaused to pass between the cylinder and the pivotally-mounted plate 42 in order to further disintegrate the pulp and cause it to reach the pulp-belt 12 for a second passage around the pressure-roll 8 in a condi' tion more favorable to the extraction of the remainder of the juice therein than if it had passed directly,.to the pulp-belt for a second compression without any action of the grater thereon. 'After being a second time acted upon by the grater the pulp passes down through a chute 51 to the pulp-belt, falling upon a portion of it not reached by the chute 43, and then makes a second circuit of the press-roll 8 between the pulp-belt 12 and the pressure-belt 19. In the second circuit of the press-roll 8, the pulp being reduced to a more complete state of disintegration and being subject to a greater pressure than in its first circuit of the roll, the juice remaining therein is almost, if not completely, extracted, and

when the pulp reaches the top of the pressroll after its second circuit it may be dis charged from the press without the loss of any appreciable quantity of juice.

The pulp is discharged after its second cir-- cuit ofthe press-roll into a chute 52, the upper end of which lies above the chute 51 and the lower end of which is extended outward from the press, as best shown in Fig. 2.

In driving the machine motion is first imparted to the cutter-cylinder 40 by means of a belt driven by a suitable motor (not shown) and running over a pulley 53, rigidly mounted upon one end of a shaft 54, upon which'the cylinder 40 is mounted. At the other end of the shaft 54 is provided a pulley 55, over which travels a belt 56, which is adapted to run over pulleys 57- and 58, mounted on the shaft 59, which is supported upon the horizontal frame members 10.

The pulley, 57 is loose upon the shaft 59, and the belt 56 is caused totravel over said pulley when it is desired to operate the grater or grinder without imparting movement to the rest of the apparatus. The pulley 58 is fast upon the shaft 59 and is used when the entire machine is to be operated.

About midway of its length the shaft 59 bears a cone-pulley 60, which is rigidly attached to the shaft and is adapted for at least three speeds, as shown. A belt 61. travels over the cone-pulley 60 and also over a simi lar cone-pulley 62, mounted on a shaft 63, supported in the upper portion of the frame F, as best seen in Fig. 2. Theshaft 63 is provided near one end with a small pinion 64, which is in mesh with a larger gear 65, carried by a short shaft supported in bearings on one of the horizontal members 3 and upon a-member 66, parallel thereto, which is supported by brackets 67. On the same shaft with the gear 65 is a small pinion 68, which meshes witha large gear 69, which is rigidly attached to the shaft 5, on which the driving-r0116 is mounted. Motion is consequently transmitted from the shaft 59 through the various power-transmitting members above mentioned to the shaft 5 and the ropcdriving roll 6, which is caused to revolve at a low rate of speed, butwith sufficient power to drive theendlcss rope 23, by means of which effectivepressure is maintained upon the belt 19.

From the foregoing description and an inspection of the accompanying drawings it will be seen that when the machine. has been set in motion its action is almost entirely ausecond treatment thereby and then discharged upon a portion of the pulp-belt which is free from pulp and by' which the more completely disintegrated pulp produced by the second action of the grinder willbe carried around the press-roll and subjected to greater pressure than in its first circuit of the press-roll.

Having described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, means for depositing pulp between two of said belts near one margin thereof and means for shifting the pulp laterally between the belts after making a circuit of the press-roll.

2. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, a hopper discharging between two of said belts near one margin thereof, a second hopper into which material is deposited after making a circuit of the pressroll, from which material will be discharged between the belts near the other margin thereof and means for driving said press-roll and said belts.

3. In a press of the class described, thecombination of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, means for making the tension of said belts greater near one margin than the other and means for depositing pulp between two of said belts nearer one margin than the other.

4. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, means for making the tension of said belts greater near one margin than the other, means for depositing pulp between two of said belts adjacent to one margin thereof and means for shifting the material laterally of the belts after making a circuit of the roll.

5. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, an obliquely-disposed roll engaging the outermost belt to increase the tension thereof near one margin and means for discharging material between two of said belts.

6. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, a chute discharging between two of said belts near one margin thereof, a grinder also disposed between two of said belts above said chute, a second chute for receiving material after making a circuit of said roll and sub ecting ita second time to the action of said grinder and a chute beneath said grinder adapted to receive the material after the second grinding and deposit it between said belts near the other margin thereof.

7. In a press of the class described, the combination of a press-rel l, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, a grinder arranged between two of said belts, means to convey ma terial to said grinder and deposit it after the action of the grinder thereon between two of said belts near one margin thereof, means to receive the material after makinga circuit of said roll and feed it to said grinder for a second action thereon and means to deposit the material between two of said belts near the other margins thereof.

8. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed thereon, means for depositing material between two of said belts near one margin thereof, means for shifting said material laterally between said belts after making a circuit of said roll and means for discharging the material from the press after making a second circuit of said roll.

9. The combination in a press of the class described, of a press-roll, said press-roll consisting of a solid body portion and a periphery composed of obliquely-arranged parallel strips rigidly secured upon the face of the roll, a plurality of belts superposed on said roll, means for keeping said belts under tension, and means for discharging material between said belts for compression.

10. The combination in a press of the class described of a press-roll, a plurality of belts superposed on said roll, a chute discharging between two of said belts and a grinder at the receiving end of said chute comprising :1 cylinder having knives mounted thereon, a concave plate pivotally mounted adjacent to said cylinder and provided on the back with camsurfaces and a slidable bar at the back of said plate disposed parallel therewith and provided with cams engaging the cams on said plate.

In testimony that I. claim the foregoing as my own .I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. WENK, .1 a. \Vitn esses:

AUoUs'r. H en'rznn, Geo. MA'r'rnsoN. 

